


Howling at the Moon

by Ayla_chan15



Category: Bleach
Genre: Family, Gen, How Do I Tag, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Short, Were-Creatures, Werewolves, for now at least, if you see a mistake please tell me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29315979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayla_chan15/pseuds/Ayla_chan15
Summary: Ichigo is struggling after losing his powers. He has frequent nightmares and his friends are pushing him away 'for his own safety'. He doesn't know how to deal with not being able to protect anyone. That changes when he meets a pack of werewolves who have just made Karakura their territory.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 10





	1. New moon

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is my first fanfic. It likely won't be very good. Sorry. Any tips are welcome!  
> I basically wanted to create a story about Ichigo being protected and loved by a pack of fuzzy wolves.  
> Right now, I just have this first chapter and not much happens yet. I'm still trying to figure out how to write this.  
> Also, the chapter title is the first part of the lunar cycle, the new moon. I chose it as a 'new beginning'. Cliche, I know :).  
> Here you go!

Ichigo panted as he woke up trembling and drenched in sweat. He immediately rolled off the bed and landed in a crouch. His right hand reached over his shoulder, searching for his Zanpakuto before he remembered. Zangetsu was gone, he would never hear his inner Hollow or the Old Man again. With shaking hands he wiped some sweat off his face and tried to remember how to breathe. “Oyaji, Karin and Yuzu are fine… they are alive… they’re all alive.”, he whispered as he tried to slow his racing heart.

In the months after he had lost his powers, he woke almost every night from nightmares. Sometimes he dreamed that his family and friends were killed by Aizen. Other times he relived the moment that his Zanpakuto spirits faded from his inner world. Just before they faded away, Shiro and Ossan had pulled him in his Inner World and told him the truth. They told him that Shiro, his inner hollow was his real Zanpakuto and that the Old Man was a manifestation of his Quincy powers, powers that he hadn’t even been aware of. He had been shocked and angry at first, but eventually, Ichigo had forgiven them. He knew that all they had ever wanted to do was protecting him. It didn’t matter now anyway, they were gone, he would never get them back. He didn’t know what would happen when he died, didn’t know if his incomplete soul would even make it to the Rukongai or Seireitei.

Ichigo shook his head, trying to clear away his sombre thoughts. Slowly he got back in his bed again. His sisters were already worried enough about him. He had dark rings under his eyes and was never really hungry anymore. Closing his eyes, he focused on slowing his breathing and tried to sleep.

Two hours later he was still tossing and turning. He sighed as he gave up and got out of bed. Ichigo went down the hall and quietly eased the door to his sisters room open. They were sleeping peacefully, curled together on Karin’s bed. Yuzu still liked to sneak in with her twin in the middle of the night. Satisfied that they were safe, he closed the door again.

 _‘Maybe a walk will clear my head’_ Ichigo thought as he went down the stairs. He quietly put on a jacket and exited the house. Wandering the dark streets under the new moon, his feet led him on the familiar route to the river.

Unseen in a nearby ally, golden eyes watched over the boy who smelled of loneliness and sadness.


	2. Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo has a not-so-good day at school, and meets a surprising late-night companion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!  
> I finally wrote the second chapter of Howling at the moon. It's even a little bit longer than the first chapter! :) I hope that you like it.  
> And thank you for the kudos and reviews so far! It really brightens my day when I get a notification of them!

Some days later at school, Ichigo sat at his desk in the back of the class, next to a window. After everything that had happened, he reacted… badly, when anyone was behind him. The maths teacher was droning on about some test that they would take next week, but the orange haired boy wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, he was watching his friends. They sat more to the front of the room, closer to the door in case they needed to make a quick escape from class to stop a Hollow attack. The teachers didn’t even try to stop them from bailing anymore when they would sprout the classic bathroom excuse, since they didn’t listen anyway, and their grades were still acceptable. Ichigo had tried going with them the first few times, but after the sixth time that Ishida had snapped at him that he had to go back, it was too _dangerous_ , he would only _distract them_ , he would just get hurt, … He stopped trying. It hurt.

It hurt even more when he would approach them on the roof during breaks, and they would abruptly stop talking. Even if Tatsuki, Mizuiro and Keigo would look at him guiltily, they wouldn’t include him in any conversations to do with Soul Society. Why could _they_ talk about hollows, Seireitei, _everything_ , but not _him_? Only Tatsuki could even _see_ Hollows, to Mizuiro and Keigo they were still just blurry figures. They wouldn’t be any more of a help in a battle than him!

He was jolted back to reality when he heard the teacher calling his name, “Kurosaki-kun, I asked you a question.” “Ah, sorry Sensei?” He asked. The man sighed and repeated “What is the answer to this equation?” Ichigo stared blankly at the blackboard, where a complex equation had been written. “… I don’t know, Sensei” he eventually answered. “Then pay attention next time, Kurosaki-kun,” the teacher reprimanded him, irritated. Orihime looked back at him worriedly. A few minutes later, the bell rang. As everyone packed their things away, Ishida, Orihime, Chad and Tatsuki suddenly tensed up. They looked at each other and sprinted out. Keigo and Mizuiro stepped forward to collect their stuff and followed at a slightly slower pace. Ichigo could only watch them go.

Later, Ichigo was walking home but decided to take a detour to the river. “Hey Mom,” he said to the flowing water, “I’m back again.” He started talking about school, his friends, Soul Society, everything, and anything. Hours later, he sat in the grass at the riverbank, looking at the setting sun. Suddenly, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He turned around, and then blinked in surprise. There, in the mouth of an ally leading to the river, stood a grey-haired wolf with beautiful golden eyes. It held itself non-threateningly, simply looking at him. Rather than backing away, or freaking out, or doing anything a _sane_ person would have done when faced with a _wolf_ of all things, Ichigo simply relaxed, smiled slightly and called out a “Hey there.” The wolf cocked its head slightly and stepped a bit closer. “You finally decided to come closer, huh?” Ichigo asked. “I’ve sensed you before.”

Contrary to what everyone believed - and what Ichigo himself expected to happen - he may not be able to see or sense _spirits_ anymore, but he could still sense the spiritual power of the _living_. And this wolf had a lot more power than a normal one should have. In the last week, he had felt its presence multiple times when he was out in the evening. But it had never felt threatening. Rather the opposite, when the presence was near, Ichigo could swear that he felt other, dangerous auras that he was not even aware of until that moment, fade away.

“You hungry?” He asked as he got a beef sandwich out of his bag and held it out. The wolf huffed, gave him a look that seemed to say ‘Fine, if you insist’ and padded even closer. It gently took the offered sandwich, backed away a few steps, and promptly laid down to eat it. As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, boy and wolf continued to watch the sunset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm not sure if it was clear, but the last few paragraphs here mean to imply that Ichigo hasn't lost his power _completely_.  
> Please leave a review! Also, tips or ideas are always welcome!  
> EDIT: Uh, does anyone know why the end notes from the previous chapter show up below??

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please review, any comments and tips are always welcome!


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